A variety of techniques exist to connect electrically two or more electronic devices. One type of well known electrical connection technique is solder. Electrical connections consisting of solder between to electronic devices are generally reliable and have a relatively low electrical resistance. Also, once solder connections between electronic devices are made, the solder connections do not typically exert forces on either of the electronic devices. Solder connections, however, have some disadvantages. For example, solder connections between electronic devices cannot easily be undone and remade between one of the electronic devices and a different electronic device. As another example, solder connections typically do not allow appreciable relative movement between the electronic devices, and in fact, relative movement between the electronic devices (e.g., due to mismatched thermal expansion or contraction of the electronic devices) can break the solder connections.
Pressure based electrical connections in which an electrically conductive probe on one electronic device is pressed against a contact on another electronic device overcomes some of the disadvantages of solder connections. For example, such pressured based electrical connections are readily undone and reformed between one electronic device and a different electronic device. Also, the probe on one electronic device can typically slide with respect to the contact on the other electronic device in response to relative movement between the electronic devices. There are, however, disadvantages to pressure based electrical connections. For example, the electrical resistance of pressured based electrical connections is typically greater than that of solder connections. As another example, pressured based electrical connections, by definition, require a given amount of force between the probe on one electronic device and the contact on the other electronic device.
Other types of electrical connections also suffer from disadvantages. For example, mechanical force fitting electrical connections (e.g., zero insertion force connectors) often require secondary actuators and typically provide a relatively low density of individual connections. As another example, liquid metals can be difficult to contain and control and typically can be used only in relatively narrow temperature ranges.
Various embodiments of the present invention address one or more of the foregoing disadvantages in prior art electrical connection techniques.